Tuesday, July 03, 2012

Southern Sweet Tea

Family time
reminiscing about relatives, places, and food bring back so many memories.I grew up drinking Southern sweet tea known
in some places in the south as “house wine.”I can’t ever remember a time when mom didn’t have a pitcher of sweet tea
on the kitchen counter or a pan of tea brewing on the stove top.

Because my
children grew up with Friday night dinners for the whole family once a month,
special holiday dinners, special weekends with the grandparents, and let’s just
stop by grandma’s because we are out running errands, they learned also that
grandma always had a pitcher of iced tea.

All three of
my children drink tea cold and hot.Jim
likes his hot tea without sugar and cold tea sweetened.Michael drinks mostly hot tea and uses honey
or drinks it straight, but always likes his grandmother’s tea.Kelly drinks her tea hot but usually fixes
cold tea and likes making a batch of sun tea which she learned from my mother.

Growng up, soda was
something we only had for special times and then we always went for Dr. Pepper,
orange, grape, or strawberry Nehi.My
grandpa Harry and grandma Chloe owned a small stone county store and gas
station in Missouri when I was little and it was a treat to visit and they let
us pick a soda.Sometimes, if we were
visiting their home, we would get soda with our meals.

My aunt Elma
was a soda girl.She loved her RC Cola
(Royal Crown Cola) until she became Coke girl and always had a little area near
the freezer where she kept it stored.Aunt Faye loved her RC Cola also but probably became a coke girl when
her son Ron delivered Coke to the local stores.My cousin John also delivered for Coke,

Now, when
mom makes tea she makes two batches, one sweet tea with sugar and one without
sugar that we can add Splenda to sweeten it with.

Red Rose tea
is my preferred tea to use and I remember mom always giving me the little
ceramic Wade animal figurines which have became very collectible and the older
figurines can now fetch several dollars to several hundred dollars for just one
figurine.

Lipton Tea
was my mother’s other tea of choice and the two brands were interchangeable and
mom would usually buy which ever was on sale.

Mom also
bought green glasses known as Boopie, Bubble, Berwick, Inspiration, or Anchor
Hocking in the grocery store filled with loose tea in the 1950’s.I don’t know the brand of tea but I have
several pieces in two sizes that mom has given me, now displayed in our new
hutch in the kitchen.

Southern
Sweet Tea

4 family
size tea bags or 8 regular tea bags

4 c. cold
water
1 ½ c. sugar
(use more for a sweeter tea)

Place water
in pot and bring to a boil.Turn off
heat and add the baking soda and tea bags.Cover with a plate and let steep for 5-7 minutes, then remove teabags
and discard.When tea has cooled down to
warm, empty into a gallon container and add sugar until dissolved then fill
remaining pitcher with cold water.Pour over ice…do not refrigerate.

Makes ½
gallon

Optional:add ¼
tsp. (a pinch) of baking soda (the soda takes out the bitterness and darkens the tea, but does
not change the taste).

No comments:

search Billie's bits and pieces

Twinchies for a cause

About Me

Married to Larry and we have five kids, a son-in-law, a daughter-in-law, two grandsons, one granddaughter, and a neighborhood cat. I focus on creating art and/or teaching mixed media, paintings, shabby chic decor, paper-making, watercolors, and mosaics.
My art has sold in several states, the internet, and in my own shop.